Magneto-optical disc recording and/or reproducing device

ABSTRACT

A recording/reproducing device using a magneto-optical disc as a recording medium having a holder for holding a magneto-optical disc and moving the magneto-optical disc between a disc unloading position and a disc loading position, a turntable for rotating the magneto-optical disc, an optical pickup for casting a light beam onto a signal recording surface of the magneto-optical disc, a magnetic head arranged to face the optical pickup on the opposite sides side of the magneto-optical disc and moving toward and away from the magneto-optical disc, and a rotating ejection lever positioned on a base for ejecting the magneto-optical disc held by the holder. Since the ejection lever is arranged on the side of the base where the optical pickup is arranged, the space within the device body is effectively used, thus realizing miniaturization.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a recording and/or reproducing device whichuses a magneto-optical disc as a recording medium, and particularly to amagneto-optical disc recording and/or reproducing device which enablesminiaturization by realizing effective use of the space and realizessimplification of the mechanism.

BACKGROUND ART

As a magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device which uses amagneto-optical disc as a recording medium, a device constituted asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is conventionally used. In thisrecording/reproducing device, a rotational driving section 103 forrotationally driving a magneto-optical disc is provided substantially ina center portion of a flat plate-like base 102 arranged inside a devicebody 101, as shown in FIG. 1. In a portion of the base 102 which extendsto one lateral edge from the portion where the rotational drivingsection 103 is provided, an optical pickup 104 is arranged so as to moveaway from the rotational driving section 103.

A head attachment arm 105 is arranged on the upper side of a holderprovided on the base 102. A magnetic head 106 is attached at the distalend of the head attachment arm 105. The head attachment arm 105 isconnected with the optical pickup 104 via a connection member 107 so asto move synchronously with the movement of the optical pickup 104.

On the surface of the side of the base 102 where the holder is provided,an ejection lever 108 for ejecting a disc cartridge held by the holderis provided. The ejection lever 108 is provided at a position on theopposite side to the portion where the optical pickup 104 is provided,with the rotational driving section 103 provided between them, as shownin FIG. 1.

In the recording/reproducing device shown in FIG. 1, a battery housingsection 110 for housing a battery 109 is provided inside the device body101. The battery housing section 110 is provided on the back side of thebase 102 where the ejection lever 108 is arranged.

Meanwhile, if miniaturization of the magneto-optical discrecording/reproducing device is to be realized, the housing position ofthe battery 109 must be considered. For example, for realizing theminiaturization of the recording/reproducing device, it may beconsidered to arrange the battery housing section 110 at a positionfacing the optical pickup 104 so that the rotational driving section 103provided between them, as shown in FIG. 3. If the battery housingsection 110 is arranged in this manner, the ejection lever 108 used inthe device shown in FIG. 1 cannot be arranged.

Thus, it may be considered to provide the ejection lever 108 on the sidewhere the optical pickup 104 is arranged. If the ejection lever 108 isarranged in this manner, there is a risk that the ejection lever 108 mayinterfere with the connection member 107. To avoid this interference,the connection member 107 must be allowed to escape toward the rear sideof the base 102 and the device itself is increased in size for thatspace.

In the recording/reproducing device using a magneto-optical disc as arecording medium, the optical pickup and the magnetic head are arrangedso that the magneto-optical disc is provided between them. The magnetichead is arranged to be in contact with or close to the surface of themagneto-optical disc that is opposite to the surface irradiated with alight beam emitted from the optical pickup.

The magnetic head used in the magneto-optical disc recording/reproducingdevice is moved to a position in contact with or close to themagneto-optical disc only at the time of recording, and is moved to aposition away from the magneto-optical disc at the time of reproduction.This is to prevent the magnetic head and the magneto-optical disc fromconstantly contacting each other so as to protect the magnetic head andthe magneto-optical disc.

Thus, in the magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device, a headlift mechanism as shown in FIG. 4 is provided for moving the magnetichead toward and away from the magneto-optical disc.

The magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device having the headlift mechanism will now be described. This device has a holder 123 whichholds a disc cartridge constituted by a rectangular cartridge body witha magneto-optical disc 121 housed therein and which is arranged movablybetween a first position for loading the disc cartridge at a discloading position formed on a base 122 and a second position for carryingout loading and release of the disc cartridge, as shown in FIG. 4.

A magnetic head unit 125 moving toward and away from the magneto-opticaldisc 121 housed in the disc cartridge is connected to an optical pickup,not shown, via a connection member 126, and is supported to be movablesynchronously with the optical pickup in the direction of an arrow X inFIG. 4, which is the radial direction of the magneto-optical disc 121.The magnetic head unit 125 has a head support arm 128 supporting amagnetic head 127 at the distal end, and an arm support plate 129 forregulating excessive displacement of the head support arm 128. The headsupport arm 128 is formed by punching out an elastic thin metal platesuch as phosphor bronze. A distal end portion 129 a bent into anL-shape, of the arm support plate 129, supports the lower surface on thedistal end side of the head support arm 128, and the proximal endportions of the arm support plate 129 and the head support arm 128 arefixed and supported on a U-shaped upper end portion of the connectionmember 126.

The magnetic head 127 is raised and lowered by a head shift plate 130.The head shift plate 130 is formed in a substantially rectangular plateshape and has its rear end portion supported in a vertically rotatablemanner near a rear end portion of an aperture 123 a provided in theholder 123. On the head shift plate 130, a driven piece 131 protrudingfrom one lateral edge of the head shift plate 130 and a spring abutmentpiece 132 protruding the other lateral edge are provided. The head shiftplate 130 is pressured and supported downward on the side of the holder123 by a return spring 133. The return spring 133 has its one end fixedto the top plate of the holder 123 and its other end pressures thespring abutment piece 132 of the head shift plate 130 from above, thusbiasing the head shift plate 130 downward. The driven piece 131 of thehead shift plate 130 is located above a cam piece 136 of a head liftlever 135 which is rotatably supported to the top plate of the holder123. The cam piece 136 has a lowering portion formed at the rear end anda rising portion formed at the front end, and the lowering portion andthe rising portion are connected by a sloped portion.

FIG. 4 shows the state where the driven piece 131 is set on the loweringportion of the cam piece 136 in the magneto-optical discrecording/reproducing device. In the state shown in FIG. 4, the headshift plate 130 is rotated downward, the magnetic head unit 125 isrotated downward, and the magnetic head 127 is moved to a position incontact with or close to the magneto-optical disc 121 housed in the disccartridge held by the holder 123.

On the base 122 on which the holder 123 holding the disc cartridgeinserted therein is rotatably supported, a lift control plate 137 issupported to be movable in the back-and-forth direction, that is,forward in the direction of an arrow Y and backward in the direction ofan arrow Z in FIG. 4. A rack 138 is formed on the lift control plate137. The rack 138 is moved and operated in the back-and-forth directionvia a connection gear mechanism 142 rotated by a driving motor 141. Aconnection hole 143 is formed at the rear end portion of the liftcontrol plate 137. In the connection hole 143, a connection piece 144provided at the other end of the head lift lever 135 is inserted.

If the lift control plate 137 moves forward in the direction of thearrow Y in FIG. 4, the head lift lever 135 rotates counterclockwise inFIG. 4. If the lift control plate 137 moves backward in the direction ofthe arrow Z in FIG. 4, the head lift lever 135 rotates clockwise in FIG.4.

The magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device in the state ofFIG. 4 is in a recordable state for recording information signals ontothe magneto-optical disc 121 as described above. The lift control plate137 is moved rearward in the direction of the arrow Z in FIG. 4 and thehead lift lever 135 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 4, so that the magnetichead 127 is located in the lowest state with respect to the holder 123.In this state, the magnetic head 127 is in contact with themagneto-optical disc 121.

On completion of recording of information signals onto themagneto-optical disc 121, the lift control plate 137 is moved forward inthe direction of the arrow Y in FIG. 4 and the head lift lever 135 isrotated counterclockwise in FIG. 4. The cam piece 136 is moved rearwardand the driven piece 131 of the head shift plate 130 is located on therising portion of the cam piece 136. The head shift plate 130 is rotatedupward and the support arm 128 is lifted up to rotate upward. As aresult, the magnetic head 127 moves away from the magneto-optical disc121.

In the magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device shown in FIG.4, since the head lift lever 135 is provided between the lift controlplate 137 and the head shift plate 130 in order to rotate the head shiftplate 130, a large number of components and connection parts arerequired. Therefore, it is difficult to assemble the device and realizethe position accuracy of the connection parts. Moreover, themagneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device has a poor powertransmission efficiency and lacks reliability. In addition, it isnecessary to arrange the members for power transmission over a longdistance like the lift control plate 137 extending in the back-and-forthdirection over the base 122, the connection piece 144 of the head liftlever 135 extending in the up-and-down direction at one lateral portion,and the head lift lever 135 extending in the right-and-left direction onthe upper side of the holder 123. Therefore, these members occupy alarge area on the base 122, making it difficult to arrange othermembers.

Thus, it may be considered to provide a cain member moving in theback-and-forth direction on the lateral side of the base 122 and todrive a cam follower protruding toward the lateral side from the headlift lever 135 by using the cam member so as to raise and lower the headlift lever 135 and hence the magnetic head 127. In the case where such astructure is employed, when the holder 123 is moved to a disc cartridgeunloading position above the base 122, the cain follower of the headlift lever 135 is moved away from the cam member provided on the base122. Therefore, the magnetic head 127 is lowered and there is a riskthat the magnetic head 127 may be damaged by insertion and ejection ofthe disc cartridge with respect to the holder 123.

In the cartridge body of the disc cartridge housing the magneto-opticaldisc therein, a recording/reproduction aperture is provided for exposinga part of the magneto-optical disc to the outside from the innermostcircle to the outermost circle. This aperture is normally closed by ashutter member movably provided on the cartridge body. The shuttermember is moved to a position for opening the aperture when the disccartridge is inserted to a predetermined position the older. A shutteropening member for moving the shutter member to release the apertureprovided in the cartridge body is formed by cutting, raising and bendinga part of the holder 123.

Since the holder in which the disc cartridge is inserted and held isnormally formed by bending and processing a thin metal plate, an edge isformed on a peripheral edge portion of the shutter opening member formedby cutting, raising and bending a part of the holder. As the disccartridge is normally inserted into and ejected from the holder by anoperator's hand, the disc cartridge is inserted at various angles intothe holder. Therefore, depending on the direction of insertion of thedisc cartridge into the holder,the inner surface of the groove which theshutter opening member provided on the disc cartridge enters may beshaven off by the edge generated on the peripheral edge portion of theshutter opening member.

In the recording/reproducing device using a magneto-optical disc as arecording medium, when the recording operation mode is selected and atleast recording of information signals onto the magneto-optical disc isbeing carried out, it is necessary to prohibit the operation of ejectingthe disc cartridge and the operation of releasing a cover body having adisc cartridge holding portion for opening and closing the device body.

Specifically, the recording/reproducing device using a magneto-opticaldisc as a recording medium is constituted so as to end the recordingoperation after recording all of desired information signals andreference information called TOC (table of contents) onto the disc. Inthe case of reproducing information signals recorded on themagneto-optical disc, the recording/reproducing device finds out TOCinformation and carries out reproduction of the information signalsrecorded on the basis of the TOC information. Therefore, if the TOCinformation is not recorded when recording the information signals,reproduction of the information recorded on the magneto-optical disccannot be carried out. Thus, in the magneto-optical discrecording/reproducing device, when the operator presses a stop button atthe end of recording, recording of information signals is stopped andthen the operation of writing TOC information is carried out.

In the magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device thusconstituted, when the recording operation mode is selected and at leastrecording of information signals onto the magneto-optical disc is beingcarried out, if the operation of ejecting the disc cartridge or theoperation of releasing the cover body for opening and closing the devicebody is carried out to cause the driven portion to fall into a stoppedstate, the recording operation is interrupted before the stop button ispressed. Since TOC information is not written, the information that isrecorded until then cannot be reproduced.

To solve such a problem, in the magneto-optical discrecording/reproducing device, there is provided a mechanism forprohibiting the operation of ejecting the disc cartridge and theoperation of releasing the cover body for opening and closing the devicebody when at least recording of information signals onto themagneto-optical disc is being carried out.

As such a mechanism for prohibiting the operation of ejecting the disccartridge and the operation of releasing the cover body for opening andclosing the device body, a mechanism as shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C isused.

In the mechanism shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, in addition to a lock lever151 which moves between a locking position for locking at a closingposition the cover body for opening/closing the device body and anunlocking position for canceling the locking of the cover body at theclosing position, there is provided regulating means 152 which movesbetween a regulating position for preventing the lock lever 151 frommoving to the unlocking position and a non-regulating position forpermitting the lock lever 151 to move to the unlocking position, asshown in FIG. 5A. At the time of reproduction or stop, the regulatingmeans 152 is located at the non-regulating position shown in FIG. 5B,thus permitting the lock lever 151 to move to the unlocking positionshown in FIG. 5B. At the time of recording, the regulating means 152 islocated at the regulating position shown in FIG. 5C, thus preventing thelock lever 151 from moving to the unlocking position.

Meanwhile, in the mechanism shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, when the operatorerroneously operates to move the lock lever 151 to the unlockingposition at the time of recording, a part of the lock lever 151 isengaged with the regulating means 152 to prevent movement to theunlocking position. The operator experiences a strong shock-like feelingand an uncomfortable touch. Also, since an operating section 153integral with the lock lever 151 which is operated by the operator doesnot move, the operator may misunderstand the situation and try to movethe operating section 153 forcibly, thus breaking the operating section153 or the lock lever 151.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a newrecording and/or reproducing device which enables furtherminiaturization of a recording/reproducing device using amagneto-optical disc as a recording medium.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a recordingand/or reproducing device which enabling further miniaturization of thedevice itself by realizing efficient use of the space without causingany interference of the ejection lever with the other members even whenthe ejection lever is arranged on the side where the optical pickup isarranged.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide arecording and/or reproducing device which enables realization ofsimplification of the mechanism and realization of protection of themagnetic head.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide arecording and/or reproducing device which enables prevention of damageto the disc cartridge by using the shutter opening member.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a recordingand/or reproducing device which enables secure prevention of damage dueto a forcible operation, without generating any uncomfortable feeling tothe operator even if the operator carries out the unlocking operationwhen unlocking of the cover body for opening/closing the device body isprohibited.

In order to achieve the above-described objects, a magneto-optical discrecording/reproducing device according to the present inventioncomprises: a holder rotatably provided on a base for holding amagneto-optical disc inserted therein and for moving between a discunloading position and a disc loading position; a turntable provided onthe base for rotationally driving the magneto-optical disc held andmoved to the disc loading position by the holder; an optical pickupmovably provided on the base for casting a light beam onto a signalrecording surface of the rotationally driven magneto-optical disc; amagnetic head arranged to face the optical pickup on the opposite sidesof the magneto-optical disc and movable between a recording position incontact with or close to the magneto-optical disc and a non-recordingposition away from the magneto-optical disc; a connection member forconnecting the optical pickup and the magnetic head; and an ejectionlever rotatably provided on the base and biased into a direction ofpressuring and ejecting, by a pressuring portion, the magneto-opticaldisc held by the holder. The ejection lever is arranged on the peripheryof the optical pickup. A main portion of the ejection lever is providedalong the base surface and the locus of rotation of the ejection leverand the locus of movement of the connection member are different fromeach other.

Also, a magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device according tothe present invention comprises: a holder rotatably provided on a basefor holding a magneto-optical disc inserted therein and for movingbetween a disc unloading position and a disc loading position; aturntable provided on the base for rotationally driving themagneto-optical disc held and moved to the disc loading position by theholder; an optical pickup movably provided on the base for casting alight beam onto a signal recording surface of the rotationally drivenmagneto-optical disc; a head moving member supported by the opticalpickup and arranged to face the optical pickup on the opposite sides ofthe magneto-optical disc for pressuring a magnetic head to move betweena recording position in contact with or close to the magneto-opticaldisc and a non-recording position away from the magneto-optical disc;and biasing means for biasing the head moving member into a direction ofmoving away from the magneto-optical disc.

The magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device according to thepresent invention further comprises a shutter opening mechanism having atongue-like shutter opening member which is engaged with a shuttermember for opening/closing an aperture for recording/reproductionprovided in the cartridge in accordance with insertion of a storagemedium cartridge having a storage medium housed in the cartridge to apredetermined position and thus pressures the shutter member into anopening direction, the shutter opening mechanism being provided in sucha manner that a protruding portion having a curved surface protrudesfrom at least one of major surfaces of the shutter opening member.

The magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device according to thepresent invention further comprises a cover body lock mechanism whichcomprises: a lock lever for moving between a locking position forlocking at a closing position a cover body for opening/closing thedevice body and an unlocking position for canceling the locking of thecover body; a regulating member for moving between a regulating positionfor regulating movement of the lock lever to the unlocking position anda non-regulating position for permitting movement of the lock lever tothe unlocking position; first biasing means for biasing the lock levertoward the locking position; and second biasing means for connecting thelock lever and an operating section with each other and biasing the locklever into the same direction as the direction toward the lockingposition, the second biasing means having a greater biasing force thanthe first biasing means.

Other objects and specific advantages of the present invention will befurther clarified from the description of the following embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a conventional magneto-optical discrecording/reproducing device.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the conventional magneto-optical discrecording/reproducing device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the magneto-optical discrecording/reproducing device such that a battery is housed on the outerside of a base.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the conventional magneto-optical discrecording/reproducing device.

FIG. 5A shows the positional relation between a lock lever andregulating means at the time of reproduction or stop.

FIG. 5B shows the state where the lock lever is moved to an unlockingposition at the time of reproduction or stop.

FIG. 5C shows the state where the lock lever is prevented from moving tothe unlocking position by the regulating means at the time of recording.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a magneto-opticaldisc recording/reproducing device and showing the state where a coverbody for opening/closing the device body is at a closing position.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the magneto-optical discrecording/reproducing device together with a disc cartridge in the statewhere the cover body is moved to an opening position.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the internal mechanism of themagneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the internal mechanism of themagneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device together with aholder.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a mechanism for lockingthe cover body to the device body.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the internal mechanism of themagneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device.

FIG. 12 is a bottom view showing the internal mechanism of themagneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the holder for holding the disccartridge.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged plan view showing a shutter opening member.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged plan view showing an ejection lever and relatedmembers, with a portion thereof being cut out.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing essential portions of a controldevice.

FIG. 17 is a schematic front view showing a mechanism section and thecover body.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the shutter openingmember together with a part of the disc cartridge.

FIG. 19A is a plan view showing essential portions including theejection lever in the case where the ejection lever is at an ejectionposition. FIG. 19B is a side view thereof. FIG. 19C is a front view inthe case where the ejection lever is at that position.

FIG. 20A is a plan view showing essential portions including theejection lever in the state immediately before the holder reaches aloading position. FIG. 20B is a side view thereof. FIG. 20C is a frontview thereof

FIG. 21A is a plan view showing essential portions including theejection lever in the case where the ejection lever is at a lockingposition. FIG. 21B is a side view thereof. FIG. 21C is a front viewthereof.

FIG. 22 is a side view in the case where the disc recording/reproducingdevice is in the non-recording state.

FIG. 23 is a side view in the case where the disc recording/reproducingdevice is in the recording state.

FIG. 24 is a side view showing the disc recording/reproducing device inthe state where the disc cartridge is ejected.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing the procedure to prohibit opening of thecover body.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to amagneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device will now be described.

A disc cartridge 2 used in a magneto-optical disc recording/reproducingdevice 1 of the present invention will be first described. The disccartridge 2 has a flat rectangular cartridge case 3 and has amagneto-optical disc 4 rotatably housed in the case 3, as shown in FIG.7. At a center portion on the lower side of the cartridge case 3 havingthe magneto-optical disc 4 housed therein, a center bole for exposing adisc hub, not shown, attached at a center portion of the housedmagneto-optical disc 4 is formed. Also, on the lower side of thecartridge case 3, a pickup access hole for causing the signal recordingsurface of the magneto-optical disc 4 to face an optical pickup isformed. At the position facing the pickup access hole on the upper sideof the cartridge case 3, a head access hole 5 is formed for causing amagnetic head for recording signals, which will be described later, toenter the cartridge case 3 and contact the magneto-optical disc 4.

Moreover, a shutter member 6 for opening/closing the pickup access holeand the head access hole 5 is movably attached on the cartridge case 3,as shown in FIG. 7. The shutter member 6 moves on the cartridge case 3between a closing position for closing the pickup access hole and thehead access hole 5 and an opening position for opening the pickup accesshole and the head access hole 5. An engagement hole 6 a is formed in aportion of the shutter member 6 facing the front end surface of thecartridge case 3, and a groove 3 a which a shutter opening member entersis formed on the front end surface of the cartridge case 3 facing theportion of the shutter member 6 where the engagement hole 6 a is formed.A pressured portion 6 b of a lock member for locking the shutter member6 at the closing position is located in the groove 3 a (see FIG. 7).

The magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device 1 according to thepresent invention using the disc cartridge 2 as a recording medium asdescribed above is constituted so that a driving section 9 and a holder10 are provided inside a device body constituted by a thin box-shapedbody case 7 with its upper side open and a cover body 8 rotatablyprovided on the body case 7 for opening/closing the upper side of thebody case 7, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The holder 10 moves between aloading position for holding the disc cartridge 2 and loading themagneto-optical disc 4 onto a disc loading section constituted on thedriving section 9 and an unloading position for moving away from thedisc loading section and unloading the disc cartridge 2.

On the front surface of the body case 7, an opening operation knob 11for carrying out the operation of opening the cover body 8 and arecording operation knob 12 are provided, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.When the opening operation knob 11 is moved into the direction of anarrow H in FIGS. 6 and 7, it cancels the locking of the cover body 8 atthe closing position for closing the upper side of the body case 7. Asthe recording operation knob 12 is moved into the direction of the arrowH in FIGS. 6 and 7, it selects an operation mode for recordinginformation signals onto the magneto-optical disc 4. Moreover, a liquidcrystal display section 13 and various operation buttons 14, 14, . . .are provided on the upper side of the cover body 8.

The driving section 9 has a flat plate-like base 17, and a rotationaldriving section 15 for rotationally driving the magneto-optical disc 4and an optical pickup 16 for casing a laser beam onto the signalrecording surface of the magneto-optical disc so as to reproduce orrecord signals are mounted on the base 17, as shown in FIG. 8.

On the front side of the base 17, a lock lever 18 is supported to bemovable in the right-and-left directions, that is, in the directions ofthe arrows H and I in FIG. 8. A lock pawl 19 is provided to protrudeupward on the upper edge of the lock lever 18, as shown in FIGS. 7 to10. The lock pawl 19 has a pawl portion 19 a which is protrudingleftward in FIG. 8, as viewed from the front side, and which has aninclined edge 19 b with its left side down. A compressed coil spring 20is provided between the lock lever 18 and the base 17, and the lever 18is biased leftward, that is, in the direction of the arrow I in FIG. 8,by the compressed coil spring 20. A regulated portion 21 is provided toprotrude rearward from the upper edge of the right end portion of thelock lever 18 shown in FIG. 8, and a switch pressing piece 22 isprovided to protrude rearward from the left end portion of the locklever 18, as shown in FIG. 10.

On the front side of the base 17, an opening operation lever 23connected with the opening operation knob 11 is supported to be movablein the right-and-left directions, that is, in the directions of thearrows H and I in FIGS. 8 to 10. The opening operation lever 23 is,connected to the lock lever 18 via a tension spring 24, as shown inFIGS. 8 to 10. As this tension spring 24, a spring having a largetensility than the expansibility of the compressed coil spring 20 isused. Therefore, when a force into the direction of the arrow H in FIGS.8 to 10 is not applied to the opening operation knob 11, the openingoperation lever 23 and the opening operation knob 11 are located on theleft end side of the movement range by the expansibility of thecompressed coil spring 20.

On the inner surface of the front end portion of the cover body 8rotatably attached on the body case 7, an engagement member 25 isattached as shown in FIGS. 7 and 17. A retaining portion 25 a protrudingrightward, as viewed from the front side in FIG. 17, is formed on theengagement member 25. The distal end surface of the retaining portion 25a is an inclined portion 25 b with its left side down in FIG. 17.

At center portion of the base 17 constituting the driving section 9, aspindle motor 26 is supported as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. An upper sideportion 28 of a rotor 27 of the spindle motor 26 is a turntable and thecenter portion of the magneto-optical disc 4 is set on the turntable 28.The rotational driving section 15 is constituted by the spindle motor 26and the turntable 28.

A large aperture 29 is formed on one lateral edge from the portion ofthe base 17 where the rotational driving section 15 is arranged, thatis, from the center portion to the right lateral edge in FIG. 8. Theoptical pickup 16, exposed upward from the aperture 29, is movable intothe directions toward and away from the rotational driving section 15,that is, in the directions of an arrow J in FIG. 8. The optical pickup16 has its one end portion slidably supported on a guide shaft 30provided on the lower side of the base 17, and a nut portion 31 providedon its other end portion is engaged with a lead screw 33 rotated by afeed motor 32, as shown in FIG. 12. As the lead screw 32 is rotated bydriving of the feed motor 32 and the nut portion 31 engaged with thelead screw 33 is fed into the axial direction of the lead screw 33, theoptical pickup 16 is moved into the directions of the arrow J in FIG. 8.

On the right lateral side of the base 17 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, acontrol lever 34 is supported to movable in the back-and-forthdirection. An inclined cam edge 35 with its front side down is formed onthe upper edge of a rear end portion of the control lever 34. A rack 36is formed on the lower edge of a portion close to the front end of thecontrol lever 34. Moreover, a regulating portion 37 is provided on afront end portion of the control lever.

One end portion of the guide shaft 30 supporting the optical pickup 16protrudes from the right end of the base 17 shown in FIG. 8, and apinion 38 is attached to the protruding portion. The pinion 38 is meshedwith the rack 36 of the control lever 34, as shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 12.A control motor 39 is attached on the lower side of the base 17. Thecontrol motor 39 and the guide shaft 30 are connected with each other bya transmission gear array 40, and the guide shaft 30 is rotated bydriving of the control motor 39.

When the recording operation knob 12 is operated by a user into thedirection of the arrow H in FIG. 6 so as to select a recording operationmode, the rack 36 is moved by the pinion 38 rotated by driving of thecontrol motor 39 and the control lever 34 is moved forward, that is,into the direction of an arrow K in FIGS. 8 and 9 toward a recordingposition at the front end of the movement range.

On completion of the operation of recording information signals onto themagneto-optical disc 4, the pinion 38 is rotated in the directionopposite to the direction in the case of selecting the recordingoperation mode, by driving of the control motor 39, and the rack 36 ismoved by the pinion 38. Thus, the control lever 34 is moved rearward,that is, into the direction of an arrow L in FIGS. 8 and 9 toward anon-recording position at the rear end of the movement range.

The holder 10, in which the disc cartridge 2 is inserted and held, ismade of an elastic plate material such as a metal plate and isconstituted by a top plate 41, side plates 42, 43 bent downward fromboth lateral edges of the top plate 41, and receiving plates 44, 44protruding toward each other from the lower edges of the side plates 42,43, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 11. The holder 10 has its rear end portionrotatably supported on the upper side of the rear end portion of thebase 17, and the disc cartridge 2 is inserted into a flat spacesurrounded by the top plate 41, the side plates 42, 43 and the receivingplates 44, 44.

On the upper edges of front end portions of the left and right sideplates 42, 43 of the holder 10, hooked pieces 45, 45 protruding outwardare provided, respectively. The hooked pieces 45, 45 are caught on hookportions, not shown, formed on the cover body 8. Specifically, when theholder 10 is rotated to the loading position for loading the disccartridge 2 to the driving section 9, that is, the lower movement end,and the cover body 8 is rotated slightly toward the opening positionfrom the closing position, the hook portions catch the hooked pieces 45,45 of the holder 10. As the cover body 8 is further rotated toward theopening position, the holder 10 is rotated toward the unloading positionfor unloading the disc cartridge 2, that is, the upper movement end.

On the top plate 41 of the holder 10, two spring portions 46, 46 areformed as rise tabs with their distal ends located slightly upward.These spring portions 46, 46 are formed in a branched shape and havewide cover body push-up portions 46 a, 46 a and narrow cartridgeretaining portions 46 b, 46 b. The cover body push-up portions 46 a, 46a are located at higher positions than the cartridge retaining portions46 b, 46 b. Meanwhile, a single cartridge retaining portion 46 b isformed at another location on the top plate 41.

In the state where the cover body 8 is located at the position forclosing the body case 7 shown in FIG. 6, the cover body push-up portions46 a, 46 a of the spring portions 46, 46 are pressured downward by thecover body 8, and the spring portions 46, 46 flex downward so that thecartridge retaining portions 46 b; 46 b press the disc cartridge 2against the receiving plates 44, 44. When the cover body 8 is rotated tothe opening position, the hook portion, not shown, of the cover body 8catches and pulls up the hooked pieces 45, 45 of the holder 10, andtherefore the holder 10 rotates to the unloading position.

Accordingly, as the cover body 8 is rotated from the closing positiontoward the opening position, the elastic force stored by the springportions 46, 46 acts on the cover body 8 via the cover body push-upportions 46 a, 46. The cover body 8 is rotated substantially above theholder 10 and is substantially opened to the holder 10, as shown in FIG.7.

On a front half portion of the sidewall 43 located on the right side ofthe holder 10 in FIGS. 9 and 13, a shutter return spring 47 protrudinginside the holder 10 is formed in a punched-out state. The shutterreturn spring 47 is formed to be long in the back-and-forth direction,with its rear end made continuous to the sidewall 43 and with its frontend portion protruding inside the holder 10. The front end portion ofthe shutter return spring 47 is bent in a wedge shape, where a hookportion 47 a making substantially right angles with the right sidewall43 and a lead-in portion 47 b extending forward from the inner end ofthe hook portion 47 a and inclined rightward are formed.

At a portion of the holder 10 slightly backward from the center in theback-and-forth direction of the right sidewall 43, a shutter openingmember 48 is formed by bending a part of the right sidewall 43 inward(see FIGS. 13 to 15). The shutter opening member 48 has a plate-likeshape which is long in the back-and-forth direction, and has itscircumferential portion bent upward to from a bent edge 48 a. Moreover,punch-out protrusions 48 b, 48 b distanced away from each other in theback-and-forth direction and punched out upward are formed. The uppersurfaces of the punch-out protrusions 48 b, 48 b are semisphericalsurfaces and the height of punching out upward of the punch-outprotrusions 48 b, 48 b is greater than the height of bending upward ofthe bent edge 48 a.

At a portion of the holder 10 close to the rear end of the rightreceiving plate 44, an unlock piece 49 protruding downward is provided,and a pawl 49 a facing upward is formed on the rear edge of the unlockpiece 49 (see FIG. 15).

An ejection lever 50 is rotatably supported at a right back portion onthe upper surface of the base 17 (see FIGS. 8 and 15). The ejectionlever 50 is made of a metal plate such that a main portion 50 aextending substantially in the right-and-left direction and a bentportion 50 b extending substantially rearward from the right end of themain portion 50 a are continuously formed substantially in the shape ofL fallen sideways. A pressure piece 50 c protruding upward is formed atthe left end portion of the main portion 50 a, and an engaged piece 50 dprotruding in an obliquely right forward direction is formed at the rearend portion of the bent portion 50 b. A spring hook piece 50 eprotruding downward is formed between the bent portion 50 b and theengaged piece 50 d.

With respect to the ejection lever 50, the rear end portion of the bentportion 50 b is rotatably supported at the rear end of the right endportion of the base 17 in the state where the main portion 50 a and thebent portion 50 b are located in contact with the upper surface of thebase 17, and spring hook piece 50 e is protruding on the lower surfaceof the base 17 through an insertion hole 17 a formed at the rear end ofthe right end portion of the base 17.

Between the spring hook piece 50 e of the ejection lever 50 and a springhook piece 17 b formed to protrude downward at the rear right endportion of the base 17, a tension spring 51 is provided as shown inFIGS. 12 and 15, and the ejection lever 50 is biased counterclockwise asviewed from above, that is, in the direction of an arrow CCW in FIG. 15and in the direction of pressing the main portion 50 a to the base 17,by the tension spring 51.

Substantially on the left side of the insertion hole 17 a of the base17, a retaining protrusion 17 c punched out upward is formed as shown inFIG. 15.

On the top plate 41 of the holder 10, a large aperture 52 is formed at aposition corresponding to the aperture 29 of the base 17 (see FIGS. 9,11 and 13).

At a position close to the rear edge of the aperture 52 of the top plate41, a head shift plate 53 is supported rotatably in the up-and-downdirection so as to protrude toward the aperture 52, as shown in FIGS. 9and 11. The head shift plate 53 is formed in a size such that itslateral width substantially covers the lateral width of the aperture 52,and supported pieces 54, 54 provided to protrude rearward from bothlateral portions of the rear end portion are rotatably supported bysupporting pieces 55, 55 provided on the top plate 41 of the holder 10.

The supported piece 54 located on the right side in FIG. 9 is extendedfurther rearward from the portion supported by the supporting piece 55.A driven piece 53 a protruding rightward is formed at the rear end ofthe rear extending portion 54 a, and a spring abutment piece 53 bprotruding rightward from the right lateral edge close to the front endof the head shift 53 is provided.

As a rear end portion of a plate-like return spring 56 which is long inthe back-and-forth direction and integrally formed on the top plate 41so as to follow the right lateral edge of the aperture 52 is caused toelastically contact the spring abutment piece 53 b of the head shiftplate 53 from the lower side, the front end portion of the head shiftplate 53 is biased upward and the rear end portion thereon, that is, theportion where the driven piece 53 a is formed, is biased downward. As aresult, the driven piece 53 a is located on the inclined cain edge 35 ofthe control lever 34 (see FIGS. 11 and 22).

A magnetic head device 57 has a head supporting arm 59 supporting amagnetic head 58 on its distal end, and an arm supporting plate 60 forregulating excessive downward displacement of the distal end portion ofthe head supporting arm 59, as shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 11. The headsupporting arm 59 is formed by punching out an elastic thin metal platelike phosphor bronze. With respect to the arm supporting plate 60, adistal end portion 60 a bent in an L-shape supports the lower surface ofthe distal end of the head supporting arm 59, and the proximal endportions: of the arm supporting plate 60 and the head supporting arm 59are fixed and supported on an upper end portion 61 a of a connectionmember 61 which has a U-shaped lateral surface. A lower end portion 61 bof the connection member 61 is fixed on the lower surface of the opticalpickup 16, as shown in FIG. 12.

At a position on the bottom of the base 17 shown in FIG. 12 on the sidefacing the ejection lever 50, a battery housing section is constitutedin which a battery 100 is housed.

In the magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device 1 according tothe present invention, as shown in FIG. 8, though the ejection lever 50is arranged on the side where the optical pickup 16 and the magnetichead device 57 are arranged, only the pressure piece 50 c is protrudingupward from the base 17, and all of the main portion 50 a, the bentportion 50 b and tile engaged piece 50 d are located along the uppersurface of the base 17 while the spring hook piece 50 e is protruding onthe lower side of the base 17. Therefore, the ejection lever 50 does notinterfere with the other members arranged on the base 17, particularly,with the connection member 61 for connecting the optical pickup 16 withthe magnetic head device 57, and miniaturization of the magneto-opticaldisc recording/reproducing device 1 can be realized by realizingeffective use of the space.

A control device for controlling the operation of the magneto-opticaldisc recording/reproducing device according to the present inventionwill now be described with reference to FIG. 16.

The control device has a control section 62 made up of a microcomputeror the like, and this control section 62 controls driving of the opticalpickup 16 through an optical pickup drive control section 63. Also, thedriving motor 39 is controlled by the control section 62 through a motordriving section 64, and a head lift mechanism 65 made up of the controllever 34, the head shift plate 53 and the like is controlled to carryout lift operation of the magnetic head 58. Moreover, detection outputsof a recording switch 66 and a half-lock switch 67 are inputted to thecontrol section 62 and various controls are carried out on the basis ofthe inputs.

The operation of the magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device 1according to the present invention will now be described with referenceto FIGS. 17 to 24.

First, in the state shown in FIG. 6, the cover body 8 is at the closingposition. In this state, recording or reproduction of informationsignals to or from the magneto-optical disc 4 is carried out. Also, atthe time of stop when the recording/reproducing operation is not carriedout, the cover body 8 is in the closing state as shown in FIG. 6.

At the time of stop, as the opening operation knob 11 is moved from thestate shown in FIG. 6 into the unlocking direction, that is, in thedirection of the arrow H in FIG. 7, the lock lever 18 is pressured intothe unlocking direction, that is, in the direction of the arrow H inFIG. 7, via the opening operation lever 23 and the tension spring 24,and the lock lever 18 moves in the unlocking direction while compressingthe compressed coil spring 20 (see a double-chain-dotted line in FIG.17). In this case, since the tensility of the tension spring 24 is setto be greater than the expansibility of the compressed coil spring 20,as described above, the tension spring 24 hardly expands. Then, as thelock lever 18 is moved in the unlocking direction, the engagementbetween the lock pawl 19 of the lock lever 18 and the retaining portion25 a of the engagement member 25 of the cover body 8 is canceled, asindicated by a double-chain-dotted line in FIG. 17.

When the engagement between the lock pawl 19 and the retaining portion25 a is canceled, the cover body 8 is rotated slightly toward theopening position by the elastic force of the spring portions 46, 46 ofthe holder 10 deformed by the pressure of the cover body 8 located atthe closing position. Then, as the user holds and lifts up the front endportion of the cover body 8, the cover body 8 rotates to the openingposition shown in FIG. 7 and the hooked portions 45, 45 are pulled up bythe hook portions, not shown, of the cover body 8, thus rotating theholder 10 to the unloading position shown in FIG. 7.

If the user eliminates the force applied to the opening operation knob11, the opening operation knob 11, the opening operation lever 23 andthe lock lever 18 are returned into the direction of the arrow I in FIG.17 by expansion of the compressed coil spring 20.

Next, the user inserts the disc cartridge 2 into the holder 10 rotatedto the ejection position.

In the process of inserting the disc cartridge 2 into the holder 10, theshutter member 6 moves to the opening position and the optical pickupaccess hole and the head access hole 5 are opened. That is, as the disccartridge 2 is inserted into the holder 10, the shutter opening member48 formed on the right side plate 43 of the holder 10 relatively entersthe groove 3 a of the disc cartridge 2 (see a double-chain-dotted linein FIG. 18), thus pressuring the pressured portion 6 b of the lockmember locking the shutter member 6 at the closing position so as tounlock the shutter member 6 and also pressuring the shutter member 6toward the opening position. When the shutter member 6 moved toward theopening position reaches the opening position, the hook portion 47 a ofthe shutter return spring 47 provided on the right side plate 43 of theholder 10 is engaged with the engagement hole 6 a of the shutter member6.

The shutter opening member 48 is formed by cutting and raising a part ofthe bolder 10 formed by bending a metal plate, and its circumferentialedge portion is bent in one direction as shown in FIG. 14, for example,upward in FIG. 14, to form the bent edge 48 a. Therefore, it is possibleto prevent the edge of the shutter opening member 48 from shaving off atleast one of lateral sides facing the groove 3 a when the shutteropening member 48 moves within the groove 3 a of the disc cartridge 2.The shutter member 48 also have the punch-out protrusions 48 b, 48 bpunched out in the same direction as the bending direction of the bentedge 48 a, and the punch-out protrusions 48 b, 48 b have semisphericalupper surfaces and a punch-out height greater than the bending height ofthe bent edge 48 a. Therefore, of the lateral surfaces of the groove 3a, the surface located in the bending direction of the bent edge 48 a,will not be shaven off. Moreover, since the shutter opening member 48 ismade of a thin metal plate and has the bent edge 48 a formed thereon,the shutter opening member 48 has a substantial thickness. For example,in the case where there is a gap between the lateral surface of thegroove 3 a of the disc cartridge 2 and the pressured portion 6 b of thelock member, it is possible to avoid such a situation that the shutteropening member 48 enters the gap to disturb the opening of the shuttermember 6.

In the above description, the shutter opening member 48 having thepunch-out protrusions 48 b, 48 b formed on its one side alone isdescribed. However, the present invention is not limited to thisstructure and the punch-out protrusions may provided on both sides ofthe shutter opening member.

The height of the shutter opening member 48, that is, the distance fromthe right receiving plate 44 of the holder 10, is set so as to preventthe shutter opening member 48 from contacting the lateral surface of thegroove 3 a of the disc cartridge 2 in the state where the lower surfacesof both lateral portions of the disc cartridge 2 are set on thereceiving plates 44, 44. This is for the purpose of preventingapplication of the load of the disc cartridge 2 onto the shutter openingmember 48 and thus preventing deformation of the shutter opening member48.

Meanwhile, at the same time as the disc cartridge 2 is inserted into theholder 10, the pressure piece 50 c of the ejection lever 50 located atthe ejection position shown in FIG. 19A is pressured by the disccartridge 2 through the biasing force of the tension spring 51 and isrotated in the direction of an arrow CW in FIG. 19A, that is, clockwiseas viewed from the top in FIG. 19A. Thus, the right lateral edge of thebent portion 50 b is engaged with the retaining protrusion 17 b punchedout on the base 17 and is locked at the locking position (see FIG. 20A).In this state, the unlock piece 49 distanced away from the engaged piece50 d provided on the holder 10 as shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B ispressured substantially leftward, that is, in the direction of an arrowN in FIG. 19C, by the engaged piece 50 d, and the unlock piece 49 issubstantially flexed in the direction of the arrow N (see FIG. 20C).

Subsequently, as the cover body 8 rotated toward the closing position,the holder 10 located at the unloading position as shown in FIG. 19B isrotated to the loading position (see FIG. 21B). The pawl portion 19 a ofthe lock pawl 19 is engaged with the retaining portion 25 a of the coverbody 8, thus locking the cover body 8 at the closing position (asindicated by a solid line in FIGS. 6 and 17).

As described above, when the cover body 8 is rotated downward from theopening position shown in FIG. 7, the inclined portion 25 b of theengagement member 25 is abutted against the inclined edge 19 b of thelock pawl 19 and pressures the inclined edge 19 b rightward, that is, inthe direction of the arrow H in FIG. 17. Thus, the lock lever 18 movesin the direction of the arrow H while compressing the compressed coilspring 20, and the retaining portion 25 a of the engagement member 25can pass below the pawl portion 19 a of the lock pawl 19. As theretaining portion 25 a is located below the pawl portion 19 a, the locklever 18 is moved in the direction of the arrow I in FIG. 17 by theexpansibility of the compressed coil spring 20, and the pawl portion 19a of the lock pawl 19 is engaged from above with the retaining portion25 a of the cover body 8. Therefore, the cover body 8 is locked at theclosing position shown in FIG. 6 (as indicated by a solid line in FIG.17).

In this case, the disc cartridge 2 is loaded at a predetermined loadingposition on the driving section 9 and the magneto-optical disc 4 isclamped on the turntable 28.

While the holder 10 is moving the unloading position to the loadingposition, the pawl 49 a of the unlock piece 49 of the holder 10 slideson the left lateral edge of the engaged piece 50 d of the ejection lever50 and relatively moves downward below the ejection lever 50. Then, asthe holder 10 reaches the loading position, the engaged piece 50 d ofthe ejection lever 50 is eliminated from the right lateral side of thepawl 49 a and therefore the flexed unlock piece 49 is restored to theoriginal state. Thus, tie pawl 49 a of the unlock piece 49 moves intothe direction of an arrow O and enters under the engaged piece 50 d ofthe ejection lever 50 (see FIGS. 21B and 21C).

In this state, the control lever 34 is at the rear end of the movementrange, that is, at the non-recording position shown in FIG. 22, and theregulating portion 37 is located on the rear side on the right side ofthe regulated portion 21 of the lock lever 18. The lock lever 18 ismovable in tie direction of the arrow H in FIG. 6, which is theunlocking direction. That is, cancellation of the locking of the locklever 18 at the closing position is possible. Moreover, the driven piece53 a of the head shift plate 53 is located on the front end portion ofthe inclined cam edge 35, and the front head of the head shift plate 53is rotated to move upward by the biasing force of the return spring 56.The front end portion of the head shift plate 53 pushes up the armsupporting plate 60 and the head supporting arm 59, and therefore themagnetic head 58 is at the non-recording position up away from themagneto-optical disc 4 (see FIG. 22).

In the magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device 1 according tothe present invention, since the head shift plate 53 as the head movingmember is biased toward the non-recording position by the return spring56 as the biasing means, the head shift plate 53 is moved toward thenon-recording position by the return spring 56 unless other forces areapplied to the head shift plate 53. Thus, there is no risk that themagnetic head 58 is damaged by the magneto-optical disc 4 or the likepushed into the holder 10.

In the case of carrying out reproduction from the magneto-optical disc4, the operation to reproduce signals is carried out in the state wherethe magnetic head 58 is away from the magneto-optical disc 4, asdescribed above. Specifically, the magneto-optical disc 4 is rotated bythe spindle motor 26 and the optical pickup 16 moves in the radialdirection of the magneto-optical disc 4 while carrying out casting of alaser beam onto the signal recording surface of the magneto-optical disc4 and detection of a return light thereof. Thus, reproduction of signalsrecorded on the magneto-optical disc 4 is carried out.

In the case of carrying out recording of signals onto themagneto-optical disc 4, the recording operation knob 12 provided on thefront side of the body case 7 is moved into the recording direction,that is, into the direction of the arrow H in FIG. 6. As the recordingoperation knob 12 is moved into the direction of the arrow H in FIG. 6,the guide shaft 30 and the pinion 38 fixed at one end portion of theguide shaft 30 are rotated by driving of the control motor 39, and therack 36 is fed by the pinion 38 to move the control lever 34 forward,that is, into the direction of the arrow K in FIG. 22. The regulatingportion 37 provided at the front end is located immediately right to theregulated portion 21 of the lock lever 18 (see FIG. 23). Therefore, thelocking of the cover body 8 at the closing position cannot be canceled.

In this state, if the opening operation knob 11 is moved into theunlocking direction, that is, into the direction of the arrow H in FIG.6, the lock lever 18 is pulled into the unlocking direction, that is,into the direction of the arrow H in FIG. 17, through the openingoperation lever 23 and the tension spring 24. However, since theregulating portion 37 of the control lever 34 is located immediatelyright to the regulated portion 21 of the lock lever 18, the regulatedportion 21 is in contact with the regulating portion 37 (as indicated bya broken line in FIG. 17) and the lock lever 18 cannot move into theunlocking direction. The engagement between the pawl portion 19 a andthe retaining portion 25 a is not canceled and the cover body 8 remainslocked at the closing position.

In this case, though the lock lever 18 does not move into the unlockingdirection, the opening operation lever 23 and the opening operation knob11 move into the unlocking direction as the tension spring 24 expands.Therefore, the operator experiences a touch close to that of the normalopening operation and does not feel uncomfortable. Moreover, there is norisk that the opening operation knob 11, the opening operation lever 23,the lock lever 18 and the like are damaged by a certain forcibleoperation due to misunderstanding by the operator.

The driven piece 53 b of the head shift plate 53 slides up on theinclined cam edge 35 and is set on the highest position portion (seeFIG. 23). The head shift plate 53 is rotated so that its front end movesdownward against the biasing force of the return spring 56. As a result,the arm supporting plate 60 and the head supporting arm 59 rotatedownward, that is, in the direction of an arrow P in FIG. 22, and themagnetic head 58 is abutted at the position, on the upper surface of themagneto-optical disc 4, corresponding to the portion irradiated with alaser beam by the optical pickup 16 (see FIG. 23). In this state, astronger laser beam than in reproduction is cast by the optical pickup16 onto the signal recording surface of the magneto-optical disc 4 and amagnetic field is applied by the magnetic head 58. Thus, signals arenewly recorded on the signal recording surface of the magneto-opticaldisc 4. Such recording of signals is carried out while moving theoptical pickup 16 in the radial direction of the magneto-optical disc 4,and the magnetic head 58 is also moved together with the optical pickup16.

It takes a certain time period, for example, 200 milliseconds (ms) forthe control lever 34 to reach the recording position at the front end ofthe movement range after the recording operation knob 12 is operated.Thus, for example, if the opening operation knob 11 is operated into theunlocking direction while the control lever 34 reaches the recordingposition after the recording operation knob 12 is operated, the lockingof the cover body 8 at the closing position is canceled and thereforethere is a risk that the holder 10 may be rotated to the unloadingposition, unloading the disc cartridge 2. If the disc cartridge 2 isunloaded from the holder 10 in this state, the magneto-optical disc 4,the cartridge case 3, the shutter member 6 or the like may contact themagnetic head 58 in the course of moving to the recording position, andthe magneto-optical disc 4 and the magnetic head 58 may be damaged.Thus, in preparation for such a case, the control section 62 carries outoperation as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 25 so as to avoid the riskof damage to the magnetic head 58 and the like.

In FIG. 16, the recording switch 66 is a switch that is turned on asrecording operation knob 12 moves in the recording direction, that is,in the direction of the arrow H in FIG. 6, and the half-lock switch 67is a switch that is operated and turned on by the switch pressing piece22 of the lock lever 18 as the lock lever 18 moves in the unlockingdirection, that is, in the direction of the arrow H in FIG. 6.

The control section 62 moves the magnetic head 58 to the recordingposition so as to enter the recording operation, only when the recordingswitch 66 is on and the half-lock switch 67 is not turned on within apredetermined time period. Even when the recording switch 66 is on, ifthe half-lock switch 67 is turned on within the predetermined timeperiod, the control section 62 reverses the control motor 39 to returnthe magnetic head 58 to the non-recording position.

The processing to prohibit opening of the cover body 8 will now bedescribed with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 25.

At step S1, the magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device 1starts.

At step S2, whether the recording switch 66 is on or not is detected. Ifthe recording switch 66 is on, the processing goes to step S3. If therecording switch 66 is off, the detection processing of the recordingswitch 66 is repeated.

At step S3, the counter inside the control section 62 is turned on tostart timekeeping.

At step S4, driving of the lift mechanism, that is, driving of thecontrol motor 39, is started.

At step S5, whether the half-lock switch 67 is on or not is confirmed bythe control section 62. If the half-lock switch 67 is off, theprocessing goes to step S6 to check the counter. If the half-lock switch67 is on, the processing goes to step S9 to reverse the lift mechanism;

At step S6, the counter is checked. If the value of the counter has notpassed 200 ms, confirmation as to whether the half-lock switch 67 is onor not is carried out at step S5. If the value of the counter has passed200 ms, the processing goes to step S7 to start the recording operation.

At step S7, the recording operation is started. At the end of therecording operation, the processing ends (step S8).

At step S9, the lift mechanism is reversed, that is, the control motor39 is reversed to return the magnetic head 58 to the non-recordingposition and then the processing ends (step S8).

As recording of signals onto the magneto-optical disc 4 ends, thecontrol lever 34 is moved rearward, that is, in the direction of thearrow L in FIG. 23, through driving of the control motor 39, and theregulating portion 37 moves rearward from the position on the right sideof the regulated portion 21 of the lock lever 18, thus making itpossible to unlock the cover body 8 from the closing position (see FIG.22). At the same time, the front end of the inclined can edge 35 movesto the position corresponding to the driven piece 53 a of the head shiftplate 53, and the bead shift plate 53 rotates in the direction of thearrow Q in FIG. 23 so that its front end portion is moved upward by thebiasing force of the return spring 56. Thus, as the front end portion ofthe head shift plate 53 pushes up the arm supporting plate 60 and thehead supporting arm 59 upward, the magnetic head 58 supported at thefront-end portion of the head supporting arm 59 moves upward and awayfrom the magneto-optical disc 4 (see FIG. 22).

Then, the opening operation knob 11 is moved rightward, that is, intothe direction of the arrow H in FIG. 6, and the lock lever 18 is movedinto the direction of the arrow H in FIG. 17 to detach the lock pawl 19from the retaining portion 25 a of the cover body 8, thus unlocking thecover body 18 from the closing position and moving the cover body 8toward the opening position as shown in FIG. 7. Thus, the holder 10together with the cover body 8 is rotated upward toward the unloadingposition (see FIG. 24).

As the holder 10 rotates toward the unloading position, the pawl 49 a ofthe unlock piece 49 moving upward pulls up the engaged piece 50 d of theejection lever 50 upward. Therefore, the bent portion 50 b of theejection lever 50 slightly floats from the upper surface of the base 17,and at this moment, the engagement between the bent portion 50 b of theejection lever 50 and the retaining protrusion 17 c of the base 17 iscanceled. The ejection lever 50 is rotated counterclockwise as viewedfrom above, that is, into the direction of the arrow CCW in FIG. 21A, bythe biasing force of the tension spring 51. By this rotation, thepressure piece 50 c moving substantially forward pushes the disccartridge 2 and a part of the disc cartridge 2 protrudes from the holder10 (see FIG. 24). Therefore, the user can hold the part protruding fromthe holder 10 and take out the disc cartridge 2 from the holder 10.

A part of the ejection lever 50 rides on the retraining protrusion 17 cand stops where the engaged piece 50 d is engaged with the rightsidewall 17 d of the base, that is, at the ejection position (see FIG.19A).

The shutter member 6, located at the opening position when the usertakes out the disc cartridge 2 from the holder 10, is pulled relativelytoward the closing position by the hook portion 47 a of the shutterreturn spring 47 engaged with the engagement hole 6 a and is moved tothe closing position.

As the holder 10 reaches the unloading position shown in FIG. 7, thedisc cartridge 2 is pressured by the ejection lever 50 and a part of thedisc cartridge 2 protrudes from the holder 10, as described above. Then,the disc cartridge 2 on which reproduction and/or recording of signalshas been completed is taken out from the holder 10, and the user newlyinserts a disc cartridge 2 for carrying out reproduction or recording ofinformation signals, into the holder 10.

The above-described shapes and structures of the individual are onlyspecific examples used in the embodiment of the present invention, andvarious modifications can be effected without departing from the scopeof the present invention.

Industrial Applicability

With the magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device according tothe present invention, the major part of the ejection lever for ejectingthe magneto-optical disc held by the holder for carrying outloading/unloading the magneto-optical disc at the disc loading positionis arranged along the base surface, and the portion protruding from thebase toward the holder is only the pressure portion for pressuring thedisc. Therefore, even though the ejection lever is arranged on the sidewhere the optical pickup and the magnetic head are arranged, theejection lever does not interfere with the other members andminiaturization of the device itself can be realized by effectivelyutilizing the space within the device body.

The magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device capable ofrecording and reproduction and the reproduction-only optical discreproducing device have the substantially common structure except forthe presence of the magnetic head and the connection member. Therefore,the ejection lever used in the present invention can be used in bothdevices and common use of component parts in the magneto-optical discrecording/reproducing device and the optical disc reproducing device canbe realized.

Moreover, the head moving member for moving the magnetic head toward andaway from the magneto-optical disc is biased so that the magnetic headis located outside of the holder. Therefore, collision between themagneto-optical disc loaded in and unloaded from the holder and themagnetic head can be avoided and protection of the magnetic head and themagneto-optical disc can be realized.

Furthermore, the shutter opening member constituting the shutter openingmechanism can prevent damage to the disc cartridge by insertion to andejection from the groove portion provided on the disc cartridge.

In addition, the lock mechanism for locking the cover body foropening/closing the body case at the closing position enables movementof the operating portion in the unlocking direction even when themovement of the lock lever in the unlocking direction is regulated.Thus, unlocking of the cover body due to a forcible operation can beprevented and accurate recording or reproduction of information signalscan be carried out.

1. A magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device comprising: aholder rotatably mounted on a base for holding a magneto-optical discinserted therein and for moving said magneto-optical disc between a discunloading position and a disc loading position; a turntable arranged onthe base for rotationally driving rotating the magneto-optical disc heldin the holder that has been moved to the disc loading position; anoptical pickup slidably mounted on the base for casting a light beamonto a signal recording surface of the rotationally drivenmagneto-optical disc; a magnetic head arranged facing the optical pickupon an opposite side of the magneto-optical disc and being movablebetween a recording position adjacent the magneto-optical disc and anon-recording position away from the magneto-optical disc; a connectionmember for connecting the optical pickup and the magnetic head; and anejection lever rotatably mounted on the base and biased towardpressuring and ejecting, by a pressuring portion, the magneto-opticaldisc held by the holder, wherein the ejection lever is arranged on aperiphery of the optical pickup and a main portion of the ejection leveris positioned along the base and a locus of rotation of the ejectionlever and a locus of movement of the connection member are differentfrom each other.
 2. The magneto-optical disc recording/reproducingdevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ejection lever is formed sothat the pressuring portion protrudes from the base. 3-15. (Cancelled)16. A magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing device comprising: aholder rotatably mounted on a base for holding an optical disc insertedtherein and for moving between a disc unloading position and a discloading position; a turntable arranged on the base for driving theoptical disc held once moved to the disc loading position by the holder;an optical pickup slidably mounted on the base for casting a light beamonto a signal recording surface of the rotating optical disc, thusreading out recorded signals; and an ejection lever rotatably arrangedon the base and biased in a direction of pressuring and ejecting theoptical disc held by the holder, using a pressuring portion; wherein theejection lever is arranged on the periphery of the optical pickup andformed in a plate-like shape, and a main portion of the ejection leveris provided to be along the base. 17-27. (Cancelled)